#JustWISL

Menu

Tacoma Stars Reserves prepare to defend WISL title

The Tacoma Stars Reserves are getting ready to defend their 2104-15 WISL Championship. The Reserves will open their season this Saturday November 21 at 7:30 PM at the Everett Soccer Arena against Sporting Everett FC. The team will have a new head coach in Joe Jarzynka and a continued focus on building talent for the professional Tacoma Stars of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL.)

Joe Jarzynka raises the 2014-15 WISL teophy. Now he’s the head coach as the Stars Reserves try to keep the hardware in Tacoma. (Wilson Tsoi)

“The Stars Reserves have been working hard – everyone trying to earn a spot on the MASL roster,” says head coach Joe Jarzynka. “While there is lots of talent in this club, not many have spent significant time on the indoor pitch, so every training is important. We have lots of new faces – many of our best players from last year are now on the Pro roster so we’ve had to backfill with young talent that is hungry, but still learning.”

The Stars Reserves took part in the Northwest Indoor Invitational in Bellingham on October 31, losing in the final to the Olympic Force. “In Bellingham, we learned we still have a ways to go to grasp some of the basic fundamentals of the indoor game and come together as a team… we also learned that we’re going to get every clubs best effort and can’t afford to slip if we want to remain undefeated,” Jarzynka says.

Reserves in Bellingham: The Tacoma WISL club will have a new-look roster this season. (David Falk)

Joe understands that repeating is made all the more challenging by holding the title. “We will certainly get every other teams’ best effort, which we embrace… the fact that many young players are still learning the indoor game, and having an ever-changing roster may pose a bit of a challenge in the beginning.”

Fans coming to the Tacoma Soccer Center for Stars Reserves matches should see the same sizzle they saw last season. “We work every training session to balance a blue collar work effort with lightning fast offensive threats,” notes Jarzynka. “While we teach a simple, possession game, we have exceptional talent that could light up the arena at anytime. With every player trying to prove his value to the top roster, our Reserves are hungry for touches in game situations.”

The MASL Tacoma Stars are off to a 4-0 start and drew 3,700 fans to their home opener back on November 6. The Stars Reserves open their home WISL schedule on Saturday December 5 against the club they defeated for the WISL title, Bellingham United. Jarzynka looks at the Pro Stars and the Stars Reserves as a single entity with shared goals. “We are united as a club – everybody working towards the same goal, and that is to win games for the Tacoma Stars. The competition is fierce to make that top 15 Pro roster.… there are many players that are right on the bubble, and could hop around from one roster to the other from week to week. While the talent and desire are there, the challenge is creating chemistry with a group that will most likely look different each week.”